Publications of the Grimsel ISC Project

The experiments within the Grimsel "In-Situ Stimulation and Circulation (ISC)" project were completed in 2017. Once the processing and interpretation is finished, all data acquired as well as journal and conference contributions, reports and datasets will be made public and appear below. If you have questions related to ISC publications or data, please either contact the respective first authors or the project leader Dr. Joseph Doetsch.

Background

The Grimsel ISC project (Demo-1) has been performed between 2014 and 2017 at the Grimsel Test Site by an interdisciplinary team of ETH Zurich and the University of Neuchâtel.

The primary goal is to improve our understanding of geomechanical processes underpinning permeability creation during hydraulic stimulation and related induced seismicity as well as to evaluate the efficiency of the generated underground heat exchanger.

Two hydraulic injection phases were executed to enhance the permeability of the rock mass. They were monitored at a high spatial and temporal resolution, including the following characteristics: rock mass deformation across fractures and within intact rock, pore pressure distribution and propagation as well as micro-seismic response.

A review of scientific research that addresses seismo-hydro-mechanical coupled processes relevant for the development of a sustainable heat exchanger in low permeability crystalline rock and an introduction to the ISC experiments has been published by Amann et al., 2018.